Chapter 13

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Zhou Wanli opened her mouth in confusion. Could she really say she didn’t recognize a single beast-taming university? But the truth was just that outrageous.

The young girl was helpless.

The time since her rebirth had been too short; she hadn’t had the chance to learn much before having to take the beast-taming college entrance exam. Even the knowledge of extraordinary creatures had been crammed into her brain in a haphazard half-month.

Though Zhou Wanli had known the boy for less than a day, from his words and actions, it was clear that his background was likely anything but ordinary.

If not for this exam, they wouldn’t have met. Zhou Wanli felt that Nan Liu Jing wouldn’t want to harm her over such a matter.

Keeping his advice in mind, Zhou Wanli smiled and said, “Though I still don’t know how I did in the exam, I will seriously consider what you said.”

Baby Dragon had been waiting impatiently nearby, and the Provoking Monkey kept harassing them, making the earth-type energy around them somewhat agitated.

Nan Liu Jing’s eyes curved into a shy smile. This was the first time he had interfered with someone’s decision—though well-intentioned, it was a bit impolite.

“Alright, that’s settled then. It’s getting late. Let’s both do our best in the final exam.” Nan Liu Jing stretched out his hand, calling over the Water Mystic Snake coiled on a tree branch, then turned back with a smile. “I look forward to seeing you in the future college league. Goodbye, Zhou Wanli.”

“Yeah, goodbye.” Even though she had no idea what this college league was.

—

Halfway down the path, Zhou Wanli suddenly stopped.

The Provoking Monkey and Baby Dragon looked over curiously.

Zhou Wanli blankly thought, Am I really that foolish? Why didn’t I borrow a leaf from Xiao Zhun’s Sunflower just now?

She regretted missing the opportunity.

But life was mostly full of setbacks, and she was getting used to it.

Since she couldn’t slack off, Zhou Wanli had no choice but to start searching for grass-type extraordinary creatures one by one, accompanied by the Provoking Monkey and Baby Dragon.

The past two days in the secret realm weren’t wasted; Zhou Wanli recalled the locations of the grass-type extraordinary creatures she had encountered before and headed in that direction.

Since the exam didn’t require the creatures to be of a certain level, things became much easier.

During the last five hours,

Zhou Wanli collected a total of twelve grass-type extraordinary creatures, including touch-me-not plants, sleepy flowers, and gurgling leaves, along with many seeds, vines, or petals. She carefully recorded their species names and characteristics on the white glowing answer sheet.

She had expected the exam to end with some announcement or other event.

But when the countdown finished, the ending was much quieter than Zhou Wanli had imagined.

Her watch on her left wrist flickered softly.

Suddenly, the space behind her warped, and a shimmering light screen appeared out of thin air, enveloping the people.

Zhou Wanli was stunned and quickly retracted Baby Dragon into her heart sea. She had wanted to say goodbye to the Provoking Monkey before leaving, but it seemed there was no chance now.

Just then, she felt something clutch her legs, and her feet sank as if something had suddenly grabbed her.

A chill ran through her heart, a bad feeling growing.

No way, right?

Before she could think further, a buzzing filled her ears, and the world spun wildly.

When she regained consciousness, she was already standing in the underground plaza of the previous base.

People surrounded her densely; Zhou Wanli felt surreal standing in the center. It wasn’t just her—those candidates around her looked equally dazed.

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“Quiet!”

Suddenly,

A somewhat unfamiliar male voice rang out over the plaza, unlike the major who had lectured them earlier.

The voice sounded younger and more official.

“The global large-scale apprentice beast-tamer unified hazard exam has now concluded!”

“All candidates who have successfully contracted extraordinary pets in the secret realm, please follow the regional officers to the one-star building at the surface base for queue inspection and registration.”

“This process will be recorded for the exam. All students must strictly observe discipline and regulations. Violations will be severely punished.”

With the exam over, naturally, everyone obeyed the staff’s instructions.

Back at the base, Zhou Wanli moved like a puppet on strings—lining up obediently, walking obediently, and then being called out obediently.

Zhou Wanli was puzzled.

While everyone else lined up to leave, she was called aside by a soldier to a corner of the plaza. A dark-skinned officer was scrutinizing her sternly. For a moment, she panicked, wondering if she had done something wrong.

“You are Zhou Wanli?”

The girl stood at attention, instinctively responding, “Sorry, did I make a mistake?”

The dark-faced officer looked surprised. “Do you know that an extraordinary creature escaped with you without being contracted?”

Zhou Wanli was confused. “Ah? I thought you called me here because I violated some rules during the exam?”

“I thought I broke some rules during the test!”

“You little kid!” The officer snapped, clearly annoyed. “You don’t know anything, and you’re apologizing for what?”

Zhou Wanli awkwardly scratched her nose. “Well, I thought if I’d made a mistake, a good attitude might reduce the punishment. When in doubt, apologize first?”

The officer was speechless. What kind of reasoning was that?

“Enough. Stop wasting my time. The reason I called you here is simple: do you recognize that monkey that ran out from the secret realm?”

“If you mean the Provoking Monkey, then yes.” Zhou Wanli nodded, honestly admitting, “When I left the secret realm, I felt something clutching my leg. Turns out it was really that guy?”

Then she looked guilty and added, “Sir, I hope you don’t blame me for this. After all, it wasn’t my conscious choice.”

The officer shook his head. “Don’t worry. This kind of thing happens occasionally in previous years. I just wanted to discuss a solution.”

“Shouldn’t this be decided by the Federation?” Zhou Wanli asked curiously. “Can I give my opinion?”

“Yes.”

The officer waved behind him, and a soldier pushed forward an iron cage in front of Zhou Wanli.

Inside, the Provoking Monkey was jumping wildly, its fierce eyes filled with panic, fur bristling, looking extremely aggressive.

Zhou Wanli recalled their first encounter in the secret realm.

But compared to then, the Provoking Monkey seemed even fiercer but more fragile inside now.

The monkey noticed her and excitedly pounded the cage, screaming and whining.

It didn’t understand why it was simply trying to follow the human girl out of the secret realm but ended up waking up in an unfamiliar place, attacked by strangers, and locked in a cage.

The human girl who had always bickered with it in the secret realm, along with that bad-tempered, dim-witted little dragon, had all disappeared.

So, seeing Zhou Wanli again was like seeing a savior. The frail creature tried desperately to squeeze through the bars, struggling to get out.

Zhou Wanli felt sorry for it and quickly stepped forward, extending her neural tendrils to gently soothe the Provoking Monkey.

“Don’t struggle so hard. I’ll send you back soon. If you push too hard, you might hurt yourself.”

“Chitter-chatter—Where is this place? Why am I locked up like this? Foolish humans! Save me!”

Zhou Wanli thought, You still have the nerve to act like a king? Must you always start trouble with your mouth?

“No wonder you get along so well with that Provoking Monkey! So you can do magnetic field matching and communicate.” The dark-faced officer glanced at the neural tendrils Zhou Wanli manifested and praised, “I didn’t expect such a small person to have such strong neural tendrils. Your brain development must be quite advanced?”

“Ah?” There were too many points to respond to, and Zhou Wanli didn’t know where to start.

Fortunately, the officer didn’t seem to want an answer and continued, “According to past practice, extraordinary creatures that sneak out of the secret realm are either sent back by the Federation or released into the nearest wilderness.”

“But…” The officer glanced at her again. “The Provoking Monkey’s case is special. It left the secret realm because it wanted to follow you. So the current solutions are—”

“First, directly send the Provoking Monkey back to the secret realm.”

“Second, you pay a deposit, and after the base places a restraint ring on it, it can leave with you.”

“Wait! What do you mean by the second option?” Zhou Wanli was surprised. “Uncontracted extraordinary creatures can enter the city? And what’s this deposit? It can’t be astronomical—I’m just a poor student.”

The officer said, “If it weren’t for your promising talent, I wouldn’t have told you about the second option.”

“The deposit is only 500,000 Star Coins, covering registration and the cost of issuing the restraint ring. Also, creatures wearing restraint rings can have their powers artificially limited.”

“The issuance of restraint rings is limited. Only extraordinary creatures in special cases are allowed into the city. But if they harm anyone, you, as their guardian, will be held responsible.”

After hearing this, Zhou Wanli fell into an awkward silence before saying, “Then I choose the first option—send it back.”

Sorry, Provoking Monkey, I’m too poor. Not a penny in my pocket.

Besides, you cause too much trouble; I’m scared.

The officer looked incredulous. “You choose the first option? Do you know how rare this chance is? It’s basically like having a second extraordinary pet ahead of time! And you refuse?”

Zhou Wanli looked innocent. “I don’t want to, sir, but I have no money.”

“Short-sighted! Really short-sighted!”

The officer lamented. “You beast-taming candidates can apply for Federation student loans! Pay back within three years with no interest! If you want, I can help you apply!”

Zhou Wanli didn’t know how to refuse such kindness, but the thought of bringing the Provoking Monkey home terrified her. With its personality, she’d be cleaning up after it every day.

She couldn’t even imagine that life.

“Alright, I’ll be honest.” Zhou Wanli looked up hopefully. “Actually, I want to contract a different second pet.”